Sophocles

Sophocles (497 BC-406 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian from Athens who was known for his works Ajax, Antigone, Women of Trachis, Oedipus Rex, Electra, Philoctetes, and Oedipus at Colonus.

Biography
Sophocles was born in Colonus, Attica in 497 BC, the son of Sophilus. He came from a highly educated and wealthy family, and he was chosen to deliver a choral chant to a god in celebration of the victory over the Persians at the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC. The conservative leader Cimon was one of his patrons, and he served as one of the treasurers of Athens from 443 to 442 BC, and he also became one of the city-state's ten generals in 441 BC as a reward for his work Antigone; he later took part in the campaign against Samos. He wrote over 120 plays in his life, only seven of which survive, and he won 24 of the 30 competitions which he competed in, never being judged lower than second place. He, Euripides, and Aeschylus were the three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived, and his rivalry with Euripides led to him hiring Kassandra to get Euripides and Aristophanes drunk at Pericles' Symposium in 431 BC, making them cause a scene. Sophocles died in Athens in the winter of 406 BC at the age of 91.